Engine-cooling system



Jan. 31, 1928. 1,657,590

5. w. RUSHMORE ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM Filed Oct. 27. 1924 INVENTOR ditRzzJ'h/mrc' 5 BY M %%NEY Patented Jan. 31, 1928.

SAMUEL W. RUSI-IMO RE, F PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

ENGINE-COOLING SYSTEM.

Application filed October 27, was. Serial No. 746,024.

My present invention relates to engine cooling systems of the general character disclosed in prior Patent, Number 1,378,724t, of May 17, 192i, particularly to means for increasing the effectiveness of such systems under extreme conditions of overload.

Cooling systems of this type embody in addition to the acketed element to be cooled, an air cooled upflow steam condenser provided with upper and lower tanks or headers connected by an intermediate honeycomb, preferably in the nature of a plurality of vertically disposed tubes of restricted crosssection. Cooling water from the jacket is short-circuited through the lower tank of the radiator and pumped back to the jacket. Under normal conditions of operation, where the steam upflow tubes or passages of the condenser are of liberal cross section. steam separated from the water in the lower chamher will flow up through the tubes and the condensate will drain back into the tank against the upflowing current of steam with out materially obstructing such flow. Under unusual conditions of over-load, where a very largeamount of steam must be condensed and the space available for the honey comb is restricted, such for instance as on high power motor trucks and rail cars, the cross sectional area oft-he condensing; passages must be so restricted thatthe gravitationally flowing condensate sometimes interferes with the free upfi owof steam. Consequently such condensate is forced upwardly ahead of the. steam into the upper header 'of the radiator and often under accumulati'ng pressure, it is forced out through a con Ventional blow off or safety valve and the water supply in the system rapidly depleted.

I have also discovered. that where the condenserj must be worked at high capacity the volume of water discharged withthe steam into the lower chamber is frequently greatly inexcess of the amount demanded for the evaporative requirements for properly cooljing the engine, and the turbulence of the boiling water in the lower chamber becomes so great that large amounts of water are forced into the condensing; tubes. This not only aggravates the difficulty above men *tioned but causes an excessive back pressure and an undesirable rise in temperature in the jacket. 1 a

l overcome both of the above noted difficulties by extending the lower end of one or more of the condenser tubes nearly to the bottom of the lower water tank and causing this tube to serve as a drain pipe for water which finds its way into the upper header. The hydro-static head of water in the drain pipe is sufficient to effect a gravity feed back to the lower tank. When the upper tank tends to flood with corn densate, the drain pipe will contain a col.- umn of water, that being solid, is, per unit height, at least twice as heavy as the frothy and bubbly columns contained in the condenser tubes. Moreover, this tube extends considerably lower than the condenser tubes. Hence, when the pressure differential is sufficient to give a large quantity of steam up flowing at a velocity sufficient to carry considerable bubbly water into the upper header, the drain tube willv be filled and the static head of the solid water column in said drain tube will be much greater than in the condenser tubes. In other words, the pressure differential between the two headers will be sufficient to force water into the upper header but entirely insufficient to prevent its gravitational return to the lower one.

Apparatus of the general character above described is adapted to perform substantially the same function and accomplish the same results as the apparatus disclosed in my copending application, Ser. No. 746.023 filed on even date herewith, but the device of the present invention is in the main intended for service where the duty is not so severe and where the condensing tubes are of slightly more liberal cross section.

The invention may be more fully understood from the followingdetaileddescription n connection with the accompanying drawlng, which is a view partly in side elcvat-ion and partly in section of an internal combustion engine embodying the cooling system.

The water jacket 10 of engine 11 is provided with an outlet pipe 12 at its upper forward end, which delivers into the lower water tank 13 of an air cooled radiator con denser. A honeycomb disposed above the fault 13 preferably includes a plurality of vertically disposed upflow tubular steam passages 14 delivering at their upper ends into a header l5 equipped with the usual filler cap 16. The return conduit from the lower tank 13 includes a pipe 17 draining to a gear pump 18 which lifts the water back to the upper forward end of the jacket 10 through a pipe 19. The inlet and outlet pipes from the jacket are preferabli arranged relatively close together to afiord a low resistance short circuited path for .water flowing through the jacket, the advantages of such a short circuit being set forth at somelength in copending applications.

' from the header and at the same time prevents water or wet steam from escaping. The usual safety valve 22 associated with header is adapted to open when excessive pressures obtain in the radiator and to relieve such pressures by discharge of steam and water.

, In accordance with the present invention 1 eliminate the inconvenience of losing a considerable quantity of water through the safety valve by the provision ofa drain pipe 23. Pipe 23 is preferably similar to the up flow steam condenser pipes 14 but instead of its lower end terminating at the top of tank 13, itterminates relatively close to the bottom of said tank, and well below the water level therein. When the engine is operated under an extreme condition of overload, water which may bexforced up the tubes 14 into the header 15 either by abnormally'high steam pressure or by the great turbulence of the. boiling water in 13 is free to drain back to the lower tank through the pipe 23. r p

The slight pressure differential obtaining in tanks '13 and 15 is entirely insufficient to interfere with the gravitational return of water through pipe 23 although adequate to force water up the condensing tubes 14. The static head in ipe 23 can never be balanced by the static iead in pipes 14, not only because of the longer length of pipe 23, but due to the fact that water in pipes 14 will be in an extremely frothy, bubbly condition while the water column in pipe 23 will always be substantially solid.

By virtue of the foregoing construction it will beapparent that in large measure, I prevent the collection of any great quantity of water in the header 15 and consequently removethe cause of excessive back pressures in. the radiator which result in a discharge through safety valve 22.

I claim: 7 r

1. A cooling system operating by the boiling and condensing method, including a means for heating a liquid to boiling temperature, in combination with an air cooled upfiow steam condenser including upper and lower headers, the lower header constituting a water chamber into which said heating means discharges, a plurality of upfiow steam passages connecting the top of the lower header with the bottom of the upper header, one of said passages extending below the others and terminating adjacent the bottom of the lower header below the water level therein.

2. A cooling system operating by the boiling and condensing method, including a means for heating a liquid to boiling temperature,in combination with an air cooled upflow steam condenser including a lower water chamber into which said heating means discharges, a plurality of substantially vertically arranged upflow steam pas sages above said chamber, a header with which the upper ends of the passages communicate and a drain pipe from the upper header terminating below the water level of the lower chamber to effect drainage of condensate forced up the condensing passages by steam.

3. A cooling system for internal combustion engines operating by the boiling and condensing method including a jacketed element to be cooled, an upflow steam condenser including a lower water chamber through which the water from the jacket is short circuited, a plurality of steam condensing passages arranged above and communicating with the water chamber, a header communicating with the tops of the steam passages and means arranged to act selectively for downward drainage of water from the header to the lower chamber instead of for upflow of'steam from the chamber to the header.

4:. A cooling system for internal combustion engines operating by the boiling and condensing method including a jacketed element to be cooled, an upfiow steam condenser including a lower water chamber through which the water from the jacket is short circuited, a plurality of steam condensing passages arranged above and communicating with the water chamber, a header communicating with the tops of the steam passages and a drain pipe extending from the header to the water chamber, said pipe being water-sealed against upflow of steam from the chamber to the header.

5. A cooling system for internal combustion engines operating by the boiling and condensing method including a jacketed element to be cooled, an upflow steam condenser including a lower water chamber through which the water from the jacket is short circuited, a plurality of steam condensing passages arranged above and communicating with the water chamber. a header communieating with the tops of the steam passages and a drain pipe extending from the botttim of the upper header to a point below the normal Water level in the lower waterchamber.

6. A cooling system operating by the boiling and condensing method, including a means for heating a liquid to boiling temperature, in combination with an upflow steam condenser including a lower water chamber into which said heating means discharges, an upper steam header, a plurality of vertically disposed upflow air cooled steam tubes connecting the top of the water chamber with the bottom of the header, one of said tubes extending well below the others and terminating adjacent the bottom of the tank at a point below the water level therein to effect drainage from the header of the water forced up through the passage.

7. A cooling system operating by the boiling and condensing method, including a means for heating a liquid to boiling temperature,-in combination with an air cooled upflow steam condenser including upper and lower headers the lower header constituting a water chamber into which said heating means discharges, a pressure relieving valve adapted to permit the discharge to the outer air of air, steam or water when the pressure in the header exceeds a predetermined amount and an outlet containing fibrous or 

